Karaoke under the stars
by spiffytgm
Summary: Steph and Val take a vacation that leads to true love. Always a babe, no cupcakes were hurt... Light and fluffy goodness!
1. Chapter 1

**So I've been away for a few weeks as you might have noticed (or not, who knows?). Mom and I went to Mexico, where the Tequila flows freely. Anyway, I was sitting here at the end of the trip looking over my pictures, and there were a LOT of selfies with donkeys. (More than usual, I don't normally do selfies, Atlantic City was the exception to the rule.) So this Idea popped into my head, and I thought I'd share it with you… **

**BTW, I don't karaoke... for good reasons. I really do think you need copious amounts of alcohol to do it, but more power to the people who do!**

**All the fun characters belong to Janet Evanovich… All the mistakes are mine.**

Urgh. I knew I couldn't hold my liquor. That's no big secret. In my defense, it wasn't like I was drinking great big glasses of different colored drinks. I was shopping. My sister Val just turned the Big 4-0, and Grandma Mazur paid for a five day cruise for two. Albert couldn't go because he finally had a case that could make them some serious money, so she invited me to go with her.

Our first stop was Grand Turk. I didn't realize that every glass of punch I drank was about forty percent Rum until the next day. I woke up hung over, with no access to The Cure, I might add. When I looked at my phone, there were about a million pictures of donkeys. Pictures of me and Val with donkeys, pictures of just Val with donkeys, pictures of me sharing my punch with donkeys. At least there's no WiFi here, so I probably didn't upload them to Facebook yet.

The next day of the cruise, we were at sea. I didn't drink nearly as much since you had to pay for the booze. We played trivia poorly, we lost money at the casino, we ate way too much, and we laid out on lounge chairs in the sun. It was a perfect day.

The next day we were in Costa Maya, Mexico. As soon as we walked off the ship, there was nothing but stores and beaches as far as the eye could see. It was like heaven fell to earth and landed in Mexico. Every store we went into gave out little samples of tequila. Val insisted that we try some. Since the glasses were about the size of thimbles, I figured three or four wouldn't do me in. Boy was I wrong. I vaguely recall dancing with someone who looked like an owl, and climbing a gazillion steps somewhere, but that was about all. So apparently I shouldn't be sampling, either.

I cracked an eye open so that I could look for my cell phone. I may not like what I find, but at least I'll have a clue what went on. The first thing I noticed was that I wasn't in the cabin Val and I shared. The next thing I noticed was that the sheets smelled faintly of Bulgari. I shot upright and immediately regretted that decision. I was holding my head in my hands when I felt the bed dip. The scent of fries was like a gift from heaven. I pried my eyes open again to see the best sight I've seen since we left Trenton. Ranger was on the bed holding The Cure. No, this wasn't Ranger, it was Carlos. Even Better. Ranger doesn't wear cargo shorts and flip flops. Looking at a his chest made me think of the theme song from The Love Boat. Still, I had no idea where we were, how I got here, or if I was still even on the ship. "How?" was all I could manage to get out.

Carlos smiled at me. "Babe." He handed me the fries. They weren't McDonalds, but they were hot and greasy. As soon as they hit my tongue, I felt my stomach settle.

I took a sip of the Coke and looked at Carlos again. "How did you get here?"

"You called me from Grand Turk. I saved the message so that you could hear it if you want."

"But that doesn't explain why you're here or where we are." Ever since Joe and I broke up for good, Carlos and I have been seeing more of each other. We still haven't defined our relationship. I know in my case it's because I'm afraid he'll tell me that we don't have a relationship, no matter what everyone else thinks.

"Babe, we're on the ship. I called the cruise line and there was a suite available. I met up with the boat in Costa Maya, and found you doing Karaoke Under the Stars." He looked like he was thinking about smiling.

"Ugh." I know I can't sing. "How bad was it?"

The almost smile turned into a two hundred watt grin. "Well, you were singing, 'Man, I Feel Like a Woman' when I found you." I wanted to curl up under the sheets and hide when he said that. "The best part was when you saw me and changed songs mid-stream. The guy running the karaoke finally just stopped the music and let you do whatever you wanted."

"You're making this up." At least I hoped he was.

He was still grinning when he handed me his phone. It was already cued to a video of me holding a microphone. Did I really want to press play? Curiosity got the better of me, and I hit it. There I was doing a truly horrible Shania Twain impersonation. He was right. When I was looking directly at the camera, I stopped singing. I started singing 'I Will Always Love You'. I decided that I could use a good Iceberg right about then. The video stopped and I hung my head. I don't think I could get any more embarrassed.

Carlos tipped my chin up so that I was looking at him. "I love you too, Babe. Came all the way to Mexico because I couldn't stand not having you there with me."

"Really?"

"Really." He kissed me. It was filled with passion and promise, and sent heat straight to my doo-dah. When we pulled apart, he was still smiling.

I had to ask, "So does this mean we're going to really be in a relationship?"

He trailed little kisses across my chin to my ear. He whispered, "We're going to do this, and it's going to be good."

When we got to the buffet for lunch, I found Val smiling and sitting with Albert. I sat with them while Carlos went to get us some food. I asked Albert, "How did you get here?"

Val was practically bouncing with excitement. "The insurance company settled at the last minute. Mom took the girls and Ranger brought my Snoogie-Woogums here for me! Isn't that great?"

I was happy for her. "I just wish I wasn't singing karaoke when he got here."

Val sighed. "I don't know why. That was the most romantic thing I've ever seen."

"I romantically changed songs right in the middle of singing badly?"

She laughed. "No, after that." She took out her cell phone and cued it to the video. When I hit play, I was singing the second song. Carlos walked up to me on the stage, took the microphone and handed it to the karaoke guy, kissed me, and carried me off the stage like Richard Gere carrying Deborah Winger. It really was romantic.

When I looked up from the video, Carlos was sitting next to me. He took the cell phone out of my hand and gave it back to Val. I kissed him again and said, "I love you."

He kissed me back and said, "I love you too, Babe. Always."


	2. Chapter 2

**I was asked to have Steph and Ranger get married on a cruise... It started out that way, honest, but this was how it turned out. If I had unlimited imaginary funds and a Cuban Sex God, I would totally do it this way!**

**All the characters you recognize belong to JE, all mistakes are mine.**

It's been a year since Carlos joined me and Val on our cruise to Mexico and all I can say is boy, what a year. Carlos and I live together now and I have never felt more loved. Six months ago he asked me to marry him and of course I said yes.

As soon as we made the announcement, it seemed like the universe exploded. I think my mother is now suffering from Multiple Personality Disorder. When we told her, she passed out. Once she came around (with a little help from Grandma Mazur and a pitcher of water) she started wailing about 'why couldn't I marry that nice Morelli boy who was from the Burg?'. Before we left, I told her that I loved Carlos and if she wasn't going to be happy for us, then we didn't need her. The next day, she called me and asked me if we wanted to rent the VFW hall or the fire station for the reception. No mention of her hysterics the night before, like it never happened.

Then we told Carlos' family. Their reaction was the exact opposite of my mother's. Mama Manoso started crying and welcomed me to the family. She wanted to know how soon we were going to give her more grand babies and _I_ had the panic attack. She called the next day to tell me that she wanted to have the reception at the Wilshire Grand Hotel in West Orange because that was the only venue that had the capacity for four hundred guests. I think she has Carlos' kindergarten teacher on her guest list.

It got to the point where I would cringe every time my phone rang and hyperventilate when the word wedding was mentioned. That's when Carlos stepped in. He had both of our mothers brought to Haywood and told them that he would be planning the wedding. They would not be given any details and would most likely not even know that they were going to the wedding until they got there. He also told them that I wasn't going to be in on the planning either so don't even bother calling me. I thought he was kidding about that part, but that was the last time anyone said a thing about the wedding to me.

That was three months ago and I haven't heard a word since. A month ago, Carlos told me that he wanted to go on a cruise to celebrate the one year anniversary of our relationship. He brought home a bunch of brochures and we picked a river cruise from Munich to Budapest. River cruise ships are much smaller than ocean liners, and Carlos promised me that they didn't do karaoke. Since the cruise was going to happen right during Oktoberfest, we decided to spend a week in Munich first. That way we could visit all the nearby castles and drink a LOT of beer.

Munich is a beautiful city. We saw the famous glockenspiel, visited the tomb of King Ludwig, and ate dinner at the Hofbräuhaus. We also spent several days touring fabulous castles where the walls were covered with silver and gold and the ceiling frescoes were magnificent. On the last day of our visit before the cruise, we were going to see Neuschwanstein Castle.

That morning when I woke up, Carlos wasn't in bed with me. Instead, there was a rose and a note. The note simply said, "Surprise". After I went to the bathroom, there was a knock on the door. I quickly put on a robe and opened the door to find two women standing there, one holding a dress bag. One of the women said, "Good morning. We are here to help you prepare for your special day." I guess this was part of Carlos' surprise. They refused to open the dress bag until they had finished doing my hair and makeup.

When they finally opened the bag, I was speechless. The most amazing wedding dress I have ever seen was nestled inside the bag. It was a white ball gown with a lace edged skirt and stunning crystal embellishments on the skirt and bodice. There was a tiara with the veil woven into it, and the most amazing silvery shoes with sky high heels and delicate ankle straps. One of the women handed me a lace handkerchief, and I realized I was crying. I was going to marry the most amazing man I had ever met, and it was going to be more than good. I'm so glad that the women used waterproof makeup on me, or we would have had to start all over again. Once I composed myself, I tried to give it back, but the woman just told me, "You need something borrowed, ja?"

Once the women had me dressed, they escorted me downstairs and into the waiting limo. The drive to the castle was taking forever and I was ready to marry the love of my life. Hohenschwangau castle was open to tourists, but the path to Neuschwanstein was blocked by guards. The limo stopped and my door was opened. I was shocked to see my father standing there, holding out his hand for me. He helped me from the car and wrapped me in a hug. When we pulled apart, he held me out at arms length to get a good look at me. "Now you look like the princess I always knew you are, " he said as a tear slipped out of his eye. "I'm happy for you, pumpkin." I was crying again as he led me to the horse drawn carriage that would take me up the mountain to the castle.

I asked my dad, "Is mom here, too?"

His face went blank. "I'm sorry, pumpkin. Your mom was so mad at Carlos for leaving her out of the wedding plans that when he offered us a trip to Germany, she refused to go. None of us knew that this was going to be the wedding until we were here. There is someone else that couldn't wait to see you, though." He helped me into the carriage and I let out a delighted squeal when I saw my Grandma Mazur inside waiting for me. The trip to the castle was filled with hugs, tears, and love.

We exchanged our vows in the throne room. It was the perfect fairy tale wedding. Valerie was my maid of honor, and Connie and Mary Lou were my bridesmaids. Tank was Carlos' best man, and Les and his brother rounded out the bridal party. With the exception of my mother, both of our families and all of my favorite Merry Men were there to celebrate with us. I asked Connie where Lula was. She gave me a look that said she was trying to hold in her laughter. "She wanted to be here, she really did. Unfortunately, she had an accident and couldn't make it. She'll be fine and will see you when you get back."

We had our reception in the Singer's Hall on the fourth floor of the castle. I took one look at the spiral staircase and told Carlos to go without me, I would just wait here for everyone to finish. He picked me up and carried me up the stairs. I have the photos to prove it.

After the Wedding and reception, we rode to Hopfen Am See so that I could see where everyone else was staying. It looked like something straight out of a postcard. Carlos and I started consummating our marriage on the limo ride back to Munich.

The next day we boarded the River Beatrice for what turned out to be our Honeymoon cruise. Carlos booked us the Owner's Suite for the Journey. We sipped champagne in bed as the ship floated down the Danube River, our french doors open so that we could see the sunset. Carlos set our glasses on the bedside table and kissed me deeply. "I love you, Babe."

I kissed him right back and said, "I will always love you."

**A/N – Neuschwanstein Castle does not do weddings. They don't even allow you to take photos inside the castle, but it is one of the most magnificent places I've ever been to. You should google Neuschwanstein Throne Room and Singers Hall for pictures... It makes me want to be a princess when I grow up.**

**That being said, it wasn't my first choice for their wedding. I was doing the wedding with a cruise tie-in as a request (ahem-Margaret-ahem), and my first thought was the Viking river cruise from St. Petersburg to Moscow. That's the one river cruise I REALLY want to do. The wedding would have been in the Amber Room of Catherine Palace (The Summer Palace near St. Petersburg – They actually do weddings if you have the money) and the reception in the Gold Ballroom. They do let you take pictures, but you have to wear special booties so that the amazing floors don't get damaged. The problem with that was that Ranger might not exactly be comfortable traveling to Russia as a tourist...**

**BTW, I pinned Stephanie's dress to my pinterest page /spiffytgm/plum-diamond if you want to see it.**

**PS****. If you're wondering what happened to Lula, that will be posted soon in Here's to you, Lucylu... But I'd love to hear what you think happened...**


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